


To Care For Life

by aria_vitali



Series: Collections of History Unwritten [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Bargaining, Developing Relationship, F/M, Love, Memories, Past Reflection, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Self-Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 03:03:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21403105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aria_vitali/pseuds/aria_vitali
Summary: If Alisaie hadn't stepped in, Aria would have taken a much different approach.
Relationships: G'raha Tia | Crystal Exarch & Original Character(s), G'raha Tia | Crystal Exarch/Original Character(s), G'raha Tia | Crystal Exarch/Warrior of Light
Series: Collections of History Unwritten [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1541752
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	To Care For Life

**Author's Note:**

> Shadowbringers 5.1 spoilers-esque. The cat boy's habit of offering his life is just too much for my heart. Thus, the scene with Alisaie brought me so. Much. Life.

The sound of a crack rang against the walls of the Ocular, echoing to and fro with reckless abandon. It was the only sound that resonated from the room as those within were stunned to silence or were too afraid to speak a word. Even Alisaie, who was the first to motion to reprimand the Exarch, was at a loss for words when she saw the scene before her.

G’raha Tia pressed a hand against his cheek, the flesh burning and likely marked by a hand print. His eyes were wide in shock as he stared into a pair likened to amethysts before him. Aria’s eyes glistened as her expression was pinched to anger, a fire burning in her irises despite the tears unshed.

“Aria…?” G’raha called out to her.

The Warrior bit her lower lip, then reached out to clasp the cloth of his robes below his collar to pull him close to her so they were able to feel each other’s breaths. As their gazes locked, the man can feel the shaking of her hands against his body and the anger of the small figure that had him at her mercy. A quiet anger, borne of a fear and passion he knew she kept reserved for those close to her heart.

“_Enough_, Raha,” Aria choked out through gritted teeth.

G’raha’s eyes widened at the sight of her quivering lips and the way the aether about her condensed and sparked in an array of sapphire, ruby and obsidian diamonds that signaled the threat of the Dreadwyrm’s Trance. Her voice was of equal concern, with the way it quaked amidst melodious notes.

“If you would so willingly throw it away, _ give it to me instead _,” Aria demanded. “Instead of throwing it into the void, let me take care of it!”

Aria’s vice-like grip on G’raha’s clothing loosened and she instead took to placing her hand flat against his chest. One of the palms she had placed carefully over where his heart would be, taking the other so she would move his to hers. Their hearts beat together, erratic at first with the initial touch, but slowing to a rhythmic pace that provided a sense of calm between the two members of NOAH. 

“And if you feel as if you are not enough, then care for mine,” Aria whispered softly. “Let caring for me be the reason you keep it. I give this,” she tightened her grasp around the wrist of his hand pressed against her chest, “to you.”

G’raha’s eyes became hooded as he took in the sensation of her heartbeats. The intimacy of such a thing was so dear to him, for personal space was something both of them had valued when they were still exploring the ruins of the Crystal Tower. He hadn’t known why he had allowed this woman into his bubble - whether it was because she was a scholar in her own right or because her presence had been so ingrained into his daily life with the way she hovered about him and personally assisted with his tasks, he could not say. The results were that it just happened, and before he knew it, he had already fallen and he didn’t want to get back up.

And so, G’raha pressed his forehead gently against hers. Aria had closed her eyes and let the tears she kept in check flow, though it was few. He took his free hand and lifted it to her cheek to wipe the streaks from her skin as he hummed to her in understanding.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered back. “I will take care of it...if you will allow that of me.”

Aria sniffled, but inclined her head. “That would be nice.”

Aria pulled herself back slightly and in turn reached her arms around G’raha for a sweet embrace. As she buried her face against his neck, the man pressed his lips against her head in the ghost of a kiss. His eyes drifted towards the other Scions, who looked towards the two of them helplessly. Although, he swore that Alisaie looked mildly irritated with the way that she crossed her arms in his direction.

Yet, none of their gazes seemed to make a timid man out of him - at least, not at this time. Reading the memoirs of a hero that he had left behind before those many winters ago, he had come to picture a woman who was willing to give her life for the sake of a god-forsaken world. Even as the realm crumbled beneath her feet, she would never turn her back against the star to which she loved.

However, the woman before G’raha was grown and changed. Those of his history wished for him to send her a message, that they offer themselves and their work as an edict so that she may burn bright again and live. So that those that come before and after would succumb to a fate better than that which they experienced. 

Here, he no longer found a hero blindly championing a cause she knew naught of, as he knew of her in hindsight in the years of solitude that accompanied him. Instead, he found a woman that had experienced the truth with all her senses. Who had felt as much pain as a thousand lives in one. Who knew the value of life and the true meaning of living for the moments in between. G’raha Tia had found Aria Vitali as she was when they spent their time together at the base of the Crystal Tower. 

  
  
A woman who would fight the world to _ save _ a life.


End file.
